<\/p>\n
A defining relative clause<\/strong> is used to give information about a noun in a sentence. This information is needed by the listener or reader to understand the whole thought in the sentence.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A lawyer is a person who represents ordinary people in a legal proceeding<\/u><\/em>.<\/p>\n The man who helped carry my stuff<\/u><\/em> has just left.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We use who<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0to provide more details about a person.<\/p>\n A policeman is a person who helps keep the street safe<\/u><\/em>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em>We use <\/em>which<\/strong>\u00a0or\u00a0that<\/strong>\u00a0to provide more details about a thing.<\/p>\n A ring is a thing which you wear around your finger as an accessory<\/u><\/em>.<\/p>\n The dress that I wore last summer<\/span><\/em> is beautiful.<\/u><\/p>\n <\/p>\n We use\u00a0where<\/strong>\u00a0to provide more details about a place.<\/p>\n That\u2019s the restaurant where we had our first date<\/u><\/em>.<\/p>\n The city where I was born<\/u><\/em> is a popular tourist destination.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Non-defining relative clauses<\/strong> provide key information therefore commas (,) are not needed.<\/p>\n If the object of the sentence is the noun which the relative clause describes (commonly found at the beginning of the sentence), the words that, which or who can be omitted.<\/p>\n Examples<\/strong><\/p>\n 1. The girl who<\/u><\/em> is staring at me is my former girlfriend.<\/strong><\/p>\n The girl<\/strong> is the subject<\/strong> of the sentence. You cannot<\/strong> omit who<\/em>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 2. The woman (who) Andy has been dating for years is my cousin.<\/strong><\/p>\n Andy<\/strong> is the subject <\/strong>of the sentence.<\/p>\n The woman<\/strong> is the object<\/strong> of the sentence.<\/p>\n When rewritten: Andy has been dating a woman for years. The woman is my cousin.<\/p>\n Here, Who<\/em><\/strong> can be omitted.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 3. The house you showed me is in a quiet neighborhood.<\/strong><\/p>\n You<\/strong>\u00a0is the subject of the sentence.<\/p>\n The house<\/strong>\u00a0is the object of the sentence.<\/p>\n When rewritten:\u00a0You<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0showed me a\u00a0<\/em>house<\/em><\/strong>. The house is in a quiet neighborhood<\/em>.<\/p>\n Which \/ that<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0is\u00a0unnecessary.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n 4. The car which is on the left side is a luxury car.<\/strong><\/p>\n The car<\/strong>\u00a0is the subject of the sentence.<\/p>\n When rewritten:\u00a0<\/strong>The car <\/strong><\/em>is on the left side. It\u2019s a luxury car<\/em>.<\/p>\n Which \/ that<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0is<\/strong>\u00a0necessary.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A defining relative clause is used to give information about a noun in a sentence. This information is needed by the listener or reader to understand the whole thought in the sentence. A lawyer is a person who represents ordinary people in a legal proceeding. The man who helped carry my stuff has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[309],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-grammar"],"yoast_head":"\n